The Late Night Show’s host Sumeet Raghavan continues to anchor its online version Jay Hind! simultaneously, says TV content has been softened to avoid offending celebrities.

After nearly three years online, Jay Hind! has found a taker on the small screen. Last weekend, Colors quietly launched the online spoof-show’s telly version called The Late Night Show.

It airs at 11 pm. According to host-actor Sumeet Raghavan, the show doesn’t have anything to do with David Letterman’s show of the same name.

“We’re glad we managed to get a similar title,” he chuckles. “I’ve watched that show, and so has Abhigyaan (director-producer Abhigyaan Jha). We’ve ensured that we don’t have any segment similar to his.”

Jay Hind! started in August 2009, and in five months had more than 20 million hits. The reason for its instant popularity was the fact that it was India’s first web show and it minced no words while taking potshots at celebrities, popular events and shows.

When asked why these ‘special comments’ are missing from the TV version, that so far doesn’t have a number of episodes fixed yet, Sumeet admits it’s been done at the channel’s behest. “They have their reasons to not offend someone. And we also didn’t want people grabbing us by our collars, grilling us on what business we had poking fun at them,” says Sumeet, who believes the show’s online version, which he still hosts, works like slow poison. “A TV show gathers instant reactions. So we have to water down whatever we say.”

Jay Hind! has an international English version called Better Late Than Never that highlights global issues with a funny twist. The host says he would love to merge that into The Late Night Show. “I don’t think it would pinch anyone if we added some humour about international events and faces,” says Sumeet. “If we went overboard, at least they won’t instantly bash us.”

More on the netBol Niti Bol is another show for the web audience. It has two-minute capsules revolving around issues that plague the youth. It was launched in mid-2010. Back in the day, there was news that even UTV had planned to produce a couple of web shows. But there hasn’t been any buzz on that for over a year.

‘No competition with Movers & Shakers’

Director Abhigyaan Jha, the brain behind Jay Hind! is the one who devised Movers And Shakers back in the day for Sony Entertainment. The non-fiction show will be back with edition No. 2 on Monday night. “It’s pure coincidence!” says Abhigyaan, adding, “Most of my career has been associated with M & S. Sony had issues and so they decided to shut it. Now, I’ve brought another show on TV and Movers… is back too. But we’re not competing. My key team isn’t involved with Shekhar Suman’s show. We wish him luck.”